A Stay at a Ryokan

View from the train ride up the Japanese Alps
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After Nara, we took a train through the Western side of the Japanese Alps to the small town of Takayama.  The train ride was gorgous through the western part of the Japanese Alps.  The train route followed a small river up a valley, then we started going through a series of tunnels that connected one valley to the next.  I was suprised at how many trees covered these mountains.  It seemed like the pine trees when all the way to the very top of the mountain.  A definate departure from the mountains of California.

Ryokan Style Room before Bedtime
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When we got to Takayama it was raining so we decided that today would be a good day to try to stay at at traditional Japanese style hotel called a Ryokan.  The one we picked was just outside of town, and had an Onsen (I will explain later) on sight.  So for those of you not familiar with a Ryokan let me try to explain.

The room is essentially empty.  There are Tasami mats (Bamboo mats) covering the floor and a small table in the center of the room.  The table is meant to be used for afternoon tea and relaxing before dinner.  After sitting for a little bit we decided to go down and try out the Onsen.  An Onsen is a natural hot spring, and apparently are all over Japan.  They collect the water from these hot springs and put them into rock pools where people can go to soak.  Before you can soak you need to shower off at one of the showers around the Onsen.  Then there are no clothes allowed in the Onsen.  When you are done you must completely dry off before going back to the changing room.  Since the water is heated by the volcanoes that have formed Japan the water in these are extremely hot, well above the typical hot tub in the US.  To be honest it felt a little like jumping into a pot of boiling water.

Magically during dinner our room transforms
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After being refreshed by our soak in the Onsen, it was dinner time.  We went down to the dinning hall and sat on the floor at a little table.  The meal had a little bit of everything there was Sasmami (Sushi without the rice), Salad, Japanese pickles, Tofu, Miso Soup, Rice, a number of other things that could not be identified, and finally a pot of water being boiled with a small flame and some raw beef and vegtables that we are supposed to cook in the water.  It was an interesting meal, and rather than eat my raw fish, I threw it in the boiling pot of water and had some cooked fish.

The Streets of Takayama
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When we got back to our room after dinner, the table had been moved to one side of the room and there were two futon matresses laid out on the floor, our beds.  In the morning our breakfast was mostly fish, rice and miso soup.  So needless to say after we checked out the first thing we did in town was go get Michelle some coffee and toast to help calm here stomach down.

There is little to see in the town of Takayama, there was a small district with old style houses, that had for the most part been turned into shops and resturants.  This was a very small section of town, maybe two streets two blocks long.  But that was the big attraction in the center of town.  On the eastern side of town there was a Higashiyama, that was meant to be similar to the one in Kyoto.  We walked along about half of it, before deciding it was time to go to the next town, because most of the Temples and Shrines were really run down.  And none of them allowed us inside to see them.  So basically it was just seeing the outside of these buildings, not overly exciting.

Pagoda in Takayama
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Bill (Michelle is still sleeping, time to wake her up)